Complete website redesign for an HSC tutoring centre

Cognito Tuition is an HSC tutoring centre that specialises in teaching Year 11 and 12 Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics. As a rapidly growing business, their original website was designed in a rush, outdated, and no longer representative of their service.

• The original website was built using Wix, a website builder that lacks full customisability & flexibility.
• Inconsistent and cluttered visuals that made content hard to read
• Lacked functionality in the student enrolment form (the core touchpoint between customers & the business)

Understanding the Purpose

Determining and understanding the purpose for a website is crucial for success. In this case, Cognito Tuition's main website aim is to convert potential customers into leads by encouraging them to fill out a student enrolment form.

Defining Information Architecture

Next I assessed how the original information architecture can be improved to fulfil the goal in mind. I examined the current problems with the website by looking at three main aspects:

• Navigation and hierarchy – is it clear & intuitive?
• Information organisation – is the content structured logically?
• Information relationship – does the content work together to holistically fulfil the website's purpose?

Competitive Analysis

Thirdly, I used competitive analysis to discern the current industry-standard, and I reflected on whether the status quo approach was truly suitable for my purpose.

Site Map

Finally, I listed out content categories that were important in conveying relevant information. This was refined and visualised into a sitemap, providing a clear guiding structure for website development.

🚫 Limitation – Due to a lack of knowledge at the time, I did not attempt to gather feedback on the original website from real end users. I mistakenly relied on internal feedback from other members of the company. In hindsight, user feedback should have been a core aspect of this process.

❓Challenge – Creating a style guide was a new learning experience. In hindsight I realised that I could have recreated the style guide in Webflow through defining classes and their properties – this would have sped up the implementation process.

❓Challenge – Representing a lot of information in a succinct, clear, digestible manner was a challenging task. However many iterations of sketches, refined with feedback helped direct my efforts.

I created the new Cognito Tuition website in Webflow.

• Designed for screen responsiveness
• Implemented web accessibility principles and adhered to WCAG
• Clear visual identity through deliberate colour and typography usage

❓Challenge – as a Webflow and website design novice, I was familiarising myself with Webflow's interface at the same time as building this site. Learning HTML & CSS improved my understanding of using Webflow, and at the same time, being able to see changes to CSS properties visually in real-time improved my coding skills too!

As the sole designer of this website redesign project, I was tasked with finding the best way to visually represent Cognito Tuition's brand identity and values. With full autonomy and creative power, I learned a lot through engaging with the entire process.

Strengths

• Coincidentally, I was undertaking an introductory web design course at the same time as this project. Although Webflow technically does not require coding knowledge, I realised that my newly acquired skills of HTML, CSS and web design principles were crucial to the success of designing and developing this website – I could easily translate my designs into reality. This taught me the importance of understanding how things work on a fundamental level.
• Google's Lighthouse tool rated all website pages >90+ in accessibility and best practices – I was able to successfully implement web accessibility principles!

Limitations

• I underestimated the copywriting aspect of the website and as a result, it was a rushed process. Some of the text is lengthy and convoluted, which hinders readability and the user's ability to skim the content. Through this less desirable outcome, I have learned the importance of succinct language in communicating information.
• As the sole, but novice designer, I did not have other  designers within the company to seek feedback from. Retrospectively, I should have reached out to peers with more experience, even if they were external to the company. This would have benefited the design process by having additional "expert" opinions.